Manifold pack



W. E. OLIVER June 21, 1938.

MANIFOLD PACK Filed Sept. 4, 1936 3- Sheets-Sheet 1 v15212192930 Midi/ ea E 02:29am,

June 21, 1938.

W. E. OLIVER MANIFOLD PACK Filed Sept. 4, 1936 HilHQ Huus 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 21, 1938. w o v 2,121,096

MANIFOLD PACK Filed Sept. 4, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented June 21, 1938 UNTTED STATES BEST AVAILABLE COPY PATENT OFFICE This invention relates to manifold packs such as are used in autographic registers, and the object is to provide a pack adapted for convenient manual manipulation to dispose successive sections in position for inscription, yet wherein one strip may be retained without severance of the individual forms of which the same is made up.

My invention will be well understood by reference to the following description taken in con- 10. nection with the accompanying drawings, whereint- Fig. 1 is a plan view of an autographic register of the hand-pull type equipped with a pack embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section thereof;

Figs. 3 and 4 are fragmentary plan views of the strips or webs going up to make the pack; and

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Autographic registers are well known wherein a plurality of strips, each consisting of a succession of forms or tickets, are folded back and forth in a zigzag manner to form what is known as a pack and from which successive sets of tickets are led over a table into cooperation with carbon paper for inscription. Some of these registers are of the hand-pull type in that the strips are drawn forward by a grasping hand applied directly thereto, and others utilize a mechanical feed, usually manually actuated. Among the latter are registers of the type known as refolders in which, while the uppermost tickets of the set are torn off, those of the lower strip are not severed but, on the contrary, the strip is refolded in a storage compartment. As far as I am informed, there has hitherto been no handpull refolder, a construction made possible by the use of the pack which I am about to describe.

For simplicity I have herein shown the pack as consisting of only two strips, an upper strip A from which the sections are severed and a lower strip B which is the refolded strip, and in Fig. 2 I have shown the edges of these strips as a single line and have omitted the usual carbon strip. The strips A and B are folded back and forth in zigzag to form the pack P which in the form of register shown is disposed in the storage compartment 5 from which the strips are led over the guide rolls I and 9 over a table ll where they are interleaved with carbon paper for inscription. The rolls "I and 9 are of substantial diameter, are spaced slightly less than the length of a section or ticket and are unobstructed at their relatively remote sides,

as described more in detail in my copending application, Serial No. 49,468, filed Nov. 13, 1935. When the strips are drawn by hand about these rollers, the passage of the fold lines about the rollers causes a variation in resistance which is felt by the operator as a signal. Thereafter on release of the tension the strips align themselves along the fold line shown at the left of Fig. 2 so that the inscriptions on the tickets overlying the table II will be in proper register.

At the right-hand end of the table the lowermost strip, which is a record strip, passes under a division bar 13 while the uppermost strip passes above the same and is adapted to be torn 01f along the line of junction between successive sections, this being facilitated by the tear-off blades l5 (Fig. 1). The lowermost strip B, on the contrary, passes to the right between the overhanging flanges ll of the case and opposed flanges I9 which confine the edges of the same loosely and prevent the strip from crumpling up on itself until it is pressed forward against the refolding cam 2| at the right-hand end of the case which serves to cause it to fold up in a zigzag manner in the compartment 23 at the right.

To permit this action to be efiected manually,

the lowermost strip B of the pack is of peculiar construction. In Figs. 3 and 4 I have shown fragments of the upper and lower strips separated and the successive sections, forms or tickets are indicated by numbers 49, 53, El and 52, which might be imagined to be serial numbers of the tickets in the pack. The sections of the strip A may be of any ordinary or suitable construction and ordinarily will comprise sections corresponding in length to the length of the pack itself joined along perforated lines and usually printed to provide a heading and a space for inscription. The sections of the strip B have spaces for inscription corresponding to those of the strip A but conveniently in the portion cor responding to the heading of the other strip, which heading is not necessary on a record strip, each section of ticket is provided at its following end (considering the direction of movement of the paper over the table II) with a central opening 25 of a size to permit the insertion therethrough of the thumb or index finger. This opening may be circular and preferably is disposed to just cross the junction line between successive tickets.

Referring now to Fig. 1, we may suppose that ticket 50A has been inscribed and torn off, leaving ticket 50B between the flanges IT and [9 at the right of Figs. 1 and 2, while tickets BIA and SIB are located for inscription over the table. The inscription being made, these tickets should be drawn toward the right in the figures to dispose tickets 52A and 52B over the table, to withdraw 5 IA to the right of the blades l5 for tearing off but without severing 5 l B, and to feed forward B to the refolding mechanism. The leading edge of ticket MA is presented between the blades [5 in position to be grasped by the fingers. The opening 25 permits the insertion of the finger through this opening so that the superposed leading edges of HA and SIB may be grasped as a unit and drawn forward as a unit to withdraw them from the table to dispose a succeeding set of tickets over the table while 50B is pushed forward to the refolding equipment. When the parts have advanced the strip B is left undisturbed while the section of the overlying strip A which lies to the right of the tear-off blades I5 is torn off and disposed of as desired.

To permit grasping of the lower ends of the tickets as described the bars adjacent the righthand end of the table II are centrally cut away. The flanges is are laterally spaced to provide a passageway between them through which the lowermost of the grasping fingers moves from left to right viewing Fig. 2 in the act of drawing out the ticket and are here shown as projecting laterally from the upper edges of the flanges of an upwardly facing channel 2! disposed centrally and longitudinally above the compartment 23.

When more than one copy of the original is to be made and the pack therefor embodies more than two strips the intermediate strips duplicate in structure the strip A and the sections thereof are withdrawn and torn off with those of strip A,

as will be understood.

I am aware that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing BEST AVAILABLE COPY from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and I therefore desire the present embodiment to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive; reference being had to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A manifold pack for use with an autographic register comprising a number of immediately superposed strips of paper, each of which comprises a series of successive tickets adapted for inscription, folded together in zigzag manner to form a pack, the lowermost strip only having between its sides at the following ends of the tickets openings formed to pass the finger, the superposed strips being unbroken where they overlie the opening in the lowermost, whereby, when overlying tickets of a superimposed set are torn off, the leading ends of all the tickets of a following set may be manually grasped to dispense the same from the pack.

2. A manifold pack for use with an autographic register comprising a number of immediately superposed strips of paper each adapted for inscription folded together in zigzag manner to form a pack, at least the uppermost strip comprising a series of forms having each a heading and an inscription-receiving portion, the lowermost strip only comprising corresponding sections having aligned inscription-receiving portions and having openings through the portions aligned with the headings, which openings are formed to pass the finger, the superposed strips being unbroken where they overlie the opening in the lowermost, whereby, when overlying forms are torn oil, the succeeding superposed sections of the strips may be manually grasped as a unit to dispense the same from the pack.

WALTER E. OLIVER. 

